Core breaker for mining machines



Aug. 25,1925. 1 1,550,669 N. K. BOWMAN CORE BREAKER FOR MININGMACHINESFiled Jan. 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 9 WW H 1 HHW v 1 Ziwvgnjob jif-KBow/izan Nag-M ('lttome N. K. BOWMAN CORE BREAKER FOR MINING MACHZNESFiled Jan. 2 l, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .L MU WWW -llllllnji m] y; I

Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES NEWTON K. BOWMAN, OF BOWDIL, OI-IIO.

ATENT OFFICE.

CORE BREAKER FOB MINING MACHINES.

: Application filed January 21, 1922. Serial No. 530,918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON K. BOWMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bowdil, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Core Breakers for MiningMachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for and method of removing cores fromcoal in mines and one object of the invention is to provide an improvedcore breaker especially designed for use in connection with miningmachines. The invention seeks to provide a device which may beinterposed in a mining machine chain for chipping or breaking away asulphur core in a coal vein as the cutting operation progresses.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method and meanswhereby to chip away the core, and thus serve to pro tect the cuttingteeth of the chain against injury by coming in contact with a projectingcore ledge and being deflected and dulled thereby.

And the invention has a still further object to provide a device soconstructed that by the use of a pair of the devices in a mining machinechain, the full height of the cut of the chain will be covered so thatregardless of the position of a core exposed in the cutting operation,either one or the other or both of said devices will act upon the corefor chipping the proj ecting ledge of the core away.

Other and incidental objects will appear hereinafter.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing a pair of my improved corebreakers interposed in a mining machine chain.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 2,looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a detail plan view of one of the chipping burs employed.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional View showing the device in use.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 6-6 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 7-7 of Figure 1,looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the mining of coal, a sulphur core is often encountered in the vein.This core is very hard, in fact, so hard that the cutting teeth of anordinary mining machine chain cannot cut through the core. The result isthat the teeth are deflected by the core above and below the core sothat, as the cutting operation progresses and the vein is cut away aboveand below core, the core forms a projecting ledge in the cut. This ledgenot only interferes with the mining machine chain but also, due to itshardness, soon dulls the teeth of the chain. The present invention,therefore, seeks to provide a device which may be interposed in a miningmachine chain for breaking down the projecting ledge of the corecoincident with the cutting operation. Further, since it has been provenimpracticable to attempt to cut the core, due to its hardness, thepresent invention also seeks to provide a device which, instead ofcutting the core, will operate thereon with a chipping or crackingaction for breaking down the core coincident with the cutting operation.

In carrying the invention into effect, I employ a link comprising a body10 which is provided with eyes 11 so that the link may be interposed ina mining machine chain in the usual manner. Formed in the link body toopen through the outer end thereof, is a plurality of recesses 12 andmounted in said recesses are bushings 13. Journaled in said bushings arecore breakers preferably in the form of chipping burs 14. These chippingburs are provided with cylindrical shanks 15 rotatably fitting in thebushings and formed in said shanks are channels or grooves 16 elongatedlongitudinally of the shanks. Three of the burs are preferably employedupon the link and, as will be observed upon reference to Figure 3, theburs are staggered or all project at different angles from the body, notwo of the burs being alined. Formed in the link body at opposite sidesthereof to accommodate the intermediate bur and the bur at one end ofthe link body, are bosses 17 and threaded through the link body toengage at their inner ends in the channels 16 of the shanks 15 of theburs are retaining bolts 18 rotatably connecting the burs with the link.These retaining bolts are preferably secured by locking nuts 19 andbearing bet-ween the bottom walls of the recesses 12 and the inner endsof the shanks 15 of the burs are springs 20 yieldably supporting theburs for inward movement upon the link body. As shown in detail inFigure 4, the burs are preferably frusto-conical in shape and are eachformed with a series of V-shaped teeth or spines 21 inclining toward theouter ends of the burs.

In practice, a pair of the devices is, as shown in Figure 1, preferablyinterposed in a mining machine chain, the chain being indicated in thisfigure at 22 and the links of the chain at 23. The devices arepreferably arranged at equally spaced points in the chain and it is nowto be observed, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, that the outer end portionsof the link bodies of the pair are deflected laterally in oppositedirections with respect to the eyes 11 thereof. Accordingly, the burs ofone of said devices will be directed downwardly while the burs of theother of said devices will be directed upwardly so that the burs of bothdevices will cover or occupy the full height of the cut of the chain.Accordingly, regardless of the point at which the core ledge may beuncovered in the cut by the cutting teeth of the chain, either one orthe other or both of the devices of the pair will act upon the ledge.

In order to clearly bring out the manner of operation of the corebreaker, I have, in Figure 5, shown the breast of a mine at 24 and thecut therein as made by the chain 22, at 25, while a core ledge, asexposed by the cutting operation, is indicated at 26. In the instanceillustrated, it will be observed that the bur at one end of one of thedevices will engage the lower face of the ledge while, as will be atonce appreciated, the bur at the corresponding end of the other of thedevices in the mining machine chain will engage the upper face of theledge. Accordingly, as the chain travels, the burs will follow thechannels formed by the cutters or bits and be caused to rotate againstthe ledge for chipping off the upper and lower corners thereof andwearing the ledge away as the cutting operation progresses and since theledge will, of course, present an irregular surface to the burs, theburs will, in rolling over the ledge, be caused to pound or strikethereagainst so that the teeth 21 of the burs will act upon the ledgewith a distinct pounding or chipping action. Since the burs areyieldably mounted, the burs may readily accommodate themselves to anyirregularities in the width of the ledge and will also yield as thechain is fed forwardly in the cut.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a mining machine, the combination with a cutting element includinglinks, of a core chipping bur yieldably mounted upon one of the links.

2. A core breaker including a link body,

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and a yieldably supported core chipping bur rotatably mounted thereon.

3. A core breaker including a link body having a recess, a core chippingmember having a shank rotatably fitting in said recess, and meanslimiting the shank against displacement.

4c. A core breaker including a link body provided with a recess, a corechipping bur having a shank slidably and rotatably fitting in saidrecess, and a spring disposed within the recess to coact with the innerend of the shank yieldably supporting the bur.

5. A core breaker including a link body having a recess, a core chippingbur having a shank slidably and rotatably fitting in said recess andprovided with a channel, means carried by the link body to project intosaid channel slidably and rotatably connecting the bur with the linkbody, and a spring disposed within the recess to coact with the innerend of the shank yieldably supporting the bur.

6. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutters carriedthereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain to follow the cuttersand engage and break off portions of a core left by the action of saidcutters.

7 In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutters carriedthereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain independent of andfollowing the cutters and movable into engagement with the projectingledge of a core left by the action of the cutters to break off portionsof said core during the cutting operation.

8. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutters carriedthereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain and operable upon theupper and lower faces of a core left by the action of said cutters witha continuous pounding action exerted at an angle to and in a directiontowards the medial longitudinal portion of the core to chip ofl'portions thereof.

9. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutters carriedthereby, of a core breaker projecting laterally in the direction of itslength from the chain and extending in the same general direction assaid cutters.

10. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core breaker following the cutters and having thebase of its working portion disposed transversely to an axis extendinglaterally from the working side of the chain.

11. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core chipping bur carried by the chain androtatable about an axis extending laterally therefrom in a direction atsubstantially right angles to the direction of travel of said chain.

12. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain including aplurality of relatively stationary cutting bits, of a rotating elementarranged between certain of the bits and adapted to break down cores orother material which resists the action of the bits.

13. I11 a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core breaker rotatable about an axis extendinglaterally with relation to the line of travel of the chain and in thesame general direction as said cutters.

14. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a tapered core breaker carried by and projectinglaterally in the direction of its length beyond one side of the chainwith its minor end outermost and having its working side presented inthe direction of the line of travel of the chain.

15. In a mining machine, the combination with a cutting elementincluding links, of core-chipping burs carried by one of the links withtheir axes extending laterally therefrom and disposed for successiveengagement with a core ledge left by the action of the cutting elementto break off portions thereof.

16. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core breaker interposed between certain of thelinks of the chain and including a member extending laterally from andin the path of travel of the chain to impinge upon and break down theprojecting ledge of a core left by the action of the cutters during thecutting operation.

17.'In a mining machine, the combination with a cutting elementincluding links, of oppositely inclined core-chipping burs mounted uponcertain of the links with their axes extending laterally from thecutting element and movable into engagement with the upper and loweredges of a core to break off portions thereof.

18. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain and including aplurality of revolving chipping burs disposed in staggered relation andhaving their axes extending laterally from the chain, said burs beingoperable to successively pound the projecting ledge of a core left bythe action of the cutters whereby to remove the core by impactcoincident with the cutting operation.

19. In a mining machine, the combination with a cutting elementincluding links, of roughened conical core-chipping burs mounted forrotation on certain of the links with their axes extending laterallyfrom the cutting chain, said burs being movable successively intoengagement with the upper and lower edges of a core left by the actionof the cutting element to break off portions thereof during the cuttingoperation.

20. In a mining machine, the combination with a cutting elementincluding links, of a roughened frusto-conical chipping bur mounted forrotation on one of said links.

21. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarriedthereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain and adapted tofollow the channels produced by the cutters and break off portions of acore formed between the channels.

22. In a mining machine, the combination with a chain and cutterscarried thereby, of a core breaker carried by the chain and movable intoengagement with the projecting ledge of a core left by the action of thecutters to break off portions thereof upon deflection of the cutters.

23. The improved method of mining coal containing relatively hard coreswhich consists in cutting away the face of the wall of coal to expose aprojecting ledge of the core and while cutting coincidently chippingsaid exposed core ledge to remove the same.

In testimony whereof I afl'ix my signature.

NEWTON K. BOWMAN. [1,. s.]

